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Alden Richards
Richard Reyes Faulkerson Jr., popularly known by his stage name Alden Richards, is a Filipino actor, television host, and model. He currently hosts the noontime show Eat Bulaga! ''and has been since 2015. Already a Kapuso heartthrob and primetime leading man, Alden joined ''Eat Bulaga! ''as a guest co-host for a month. The Dabarkads welcomed the actor in the variety show for him to learn different hosting skills before he starts working on a new project. After a month has passed, the management decided to make him a regular co-host. Alden was 23 years old when he joined the show. He was then paired with showbiz newcomer Maine Mendoza after she broke out of character upon seeing him in the segment ''Problem Solving. The unintentional formation of a loveteam between Alden and Maine known as AlDub became phenomenal and unconventional as it repeatedly trended on Twitter worldwide and brought in unprecedented ratings for the noontime show. Alden immediately gained fame and became known as the "Pambansang Bae ng Pilipinas". Thanks to AlDub, he was recognized by various award-giving bodies and became one of the most-talked about names in the Philippine showbiz. Despite the phenomenal success surrounding him, Alden remains the same and keeps his focus on what is important—his family. His showbiz success is all thanks to his late mother, who dreamed of seeing him on television. Early life Richard Reyes Faulkerson Jr. was born on 2 January 1992 in Santa Rosa, Laguna, Philippines. He is the second of the four children of Richard Peralta Faulkerson Sr. and Rosario Reyes. He has three siblings: older brother Richard Daniel and sisters Riza and Angel. Alden is of American descent through his paternal grandfather. Growing up, Richards wanted to be a pilot but his mother urged him to pursue acting instead. Being very young at that time, Alden did not take it too seriously. But in 2008, Rosario passed away after bouts with chronic pneumonia from being a heavy smoker. From his mother’s medication expenses to his and his siblings’ education, his father’s earnings were not enough to support their family. In that trying moment, it dawned on him that there was no better way to honor his mother than fulfilling the one thing she desired most. So Alden tried to find a way to enter the Philippine entertainment industry. He studied high school at Paco Catholic School in Paco, Manila, and then Colegio de Santa Rosa de Lima High School where he graduated. Although he wanted to be a pilot, he wasn't able to pay its tuition fee so he ended up taking Business Management at the De La Salle Canlubang in Biñan, Laguna. In 2011, Alden withdrew from college to become a full-fledged celebrity. Prior to Eat Bulaga! Fulfilling his mother's dream ' Alden Richards achieved consecutive victories as the Ginoong Santa Rosa in 2009 and Ginoong Laguna in 2010. He also began working as a part-time commerical model. Alden also auditioned for reality television shows ''Starstruck ''in 2009 and ''Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Clash 2010. Unfortunately, he didn't make it far in either show. He only made it in the Top 60 of Starstruck ''before being eliminated. "''After a year of auditions and rejections, I considered quitting. Sabi ko, ayoko na, because sayang ang time, sayang ang pera. I lived in Laguna, which meant I had to rent a van to get to and from places in Manila.". Alden was a freshman in college when he was invited to audition for a role in the 2011 afternoon fantasy-drama series Alakdana on GMA Network. Initially, he was hesitant to go to the audition because he was one absence away from failing a class. Luckily, he went as a last-minute decision and landed the lead role. He was paired with actress Louise delos Reyes and their loveteam became known as DenLou. Their tandem became a hit that it propelled each of them to stardom. His role in ''Alakdana ''also earned him the Golden Screen TV Award for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance by an Actor in the same year. He was then included in the cast of ''Reel Love Presents: Tween Hearts ''(2011), ''Party Pilipinas ''(2011), and ''My Beloved ''(2012) before bagging a lead role on GMA-7's primetime block. '''In the limelight of Kapuso primetime Alden and Louise became household names with the popularity of their characters in the 2012 drama-romance series One True Love ''as Tisoy and Elize, star-crossed lovers who fought for their love all the way until the end. Because of his versatility and love for his craft, Alden was also given the opportunity to showcase more of his talent and work with some of the industry’s respected artists and directors, most notably when he was paired with Kapuso Primetime Queen Marian Rivera in the 2014 drama series ''Carmela: Ang Pinakamagandang Babae sa Mundong Ibabaw. He then hosted Bet ng Bayan, a talent search television program, together with Regine Velasquez. In October 2014, Alden topbilled the internationally-acclaimed historical drama series Ilustrado. He played the role of Filipino patriot José Rizal that gave Alden his first Best Actor award from the 29th PMPC Star Awards for Television. He was the only nominee from his home network against a field of respected actors from the rival television network. As an Eat Bulaga! ''Dabarkads '''Becoming the Pambasang Bae' With the help of his screen partnership with internet sensation Maine Mendoza, Alden became arguably the hottest male actor at the time. And although the immense hype surrounding the tandem has somehow waned, the 25-year-old Kapuso talent still enjoys the phenomenon’s after-effect. The AlDub phenomenon Category:Hosts Category:Dabarkads Category:AlDub